Thanalor Ravenstrike
A hardened survivor of great tragedy, Thanalor Ravenstrike is a man with many great stories to tell; most of which do not have a good ending. Whilst his past may be bleak, he is optimistic about his future, having had most of the weight from his nightmares lifted off of his shoulders through years of enlightening travel throughout Azeroth. While he may be a bit more spiritual than most people, he is not a hippy. I promise. =Personality = ---- Thanalor is a reserved individual. He does not speak often and when he does, his voice comes out soft, albeit a bit hoarse and sometimes even rough. Often times he will find himself in awkward situations where he cannot come up with an appropriate response. He hates it when that happens. Thanalor wishes that he could be blunt or straight-forward, but most of the time, he just ends up rambling and over-explaining things. It is only after getting to know someone, that he is able to open up and feel more comfortable with shorter responses. He is much more than just his words however as through his actions, one can easily assume that he is caring, attentive and open-minded. Kindness is something that he has amassed over the years and he is eager to share it with everyone that is willing to accept it. However, beneath that shell of wholesomeness lies the battered soul of a man who has been forced to do horrific things just to survive. =Description = ---- His face seems weary and tired despite the fact that he is not actually that old of a Kaldorei. A chiseled jawline is hidden behind a light beard, giving him a rugged look. His cheeks are somewhat sunken, his nose is a bit broad and his lips seem to always be pursed together. Over his right cheekbone is a large scar that leads up to the empty socket where his right eye would have been. He usually keeps the old wound wrapped behind a thick, leather strap that he ties at an angle around his head. His white hair is simply bedhead, messily styled and tucked back as to not obscure his vision. While a bit rough in appearance, if he were to actually put in the effort, he would clean up rather nicely. Through centuries of tough times and combat, his body has been reforged and hardened. It is a bit strange however, as it seems that most of the scars that he has on his body are from much more recent injuries. Scattered across his dark, muted purple, calloused skin are several scars, ranging from large ones, to small ones, fresh ones and faded ones. The scars seem to never fully end on his body, where one scar starts to fade, another scar is there to continue it. These are not the type of scars that most would deem appealing. It would take a bit of willpower not to find his battered form offputting. Besides the numerous scars that mar his skin, there are other features about his body worth mentioning. Standing at 7'7, Thanalor is just a tad bit taller than fellow males of his race. On his chiseled chest are two sabrecat tattoos, one on each pectoral. His physique is athletic and fit; lean, taut muscles seem to cover most of his body, giving him an excellent amount of strength whilst also making him light and flexible. While he may not be as bulky or as muscular as someone who focuses entirely on strength, it would be unwise to underestimate his power in combat. While he may travel a lot, he does not use that as an excuse not to bathe. Most of the time, he ends up having to wash himself in rivers or in streams and over time, he seems to have taken about the scent of nature with him. He smells faintly of fruit and rain, as if he had gathered up every last bit of sweetness in the air to create that trademark scent that seems to only come from him. =Outfit = ---- The layered, leather armour that Thanalor wears covers him from head to toe, covering everything except for his arms and his hands. The reinforced leather armour is made of treated white sabrecat hides, that have been sewn in layers, making his armour durable, warm and flexible. Over top of his armour, he usually wears a light, plate helm with a leather mask underneath. Underneath all that travel-style armour, Thanalor wears a simple, brown long-sleeve shirt. Around his neck, he wears a myriad of necklaces, all of them simple and collected from his various adventures around the world. The oldest one is a crescent moon necklace, carved out of wood and attached to a blue thread. There are a few runes carved into the flat sides of it and it gives off a calming aura when held in the hand. One of the ones that stand out more would have to be a silver cross, held around his neck via a thin, metallic chain. In the center of the cross is a small, decently polished, ruby stone. It is quite the strange thing for a Kaldorei to carry as they usually do not associate themselves with the Light. The most recent addition would have to be a small owl, carved out of dark horn, tied to a dark-green string. He seems to fiddle with that one the most. =Weapons = ---- Attached to his hips via two, tight leather straps are his trusty, bladed gauntlets. They are simple in design; a grip where Thanalor can hold them attached to a bladed end with spikes on the top and bottom, allowing him to slice as well as stab. The blades seem to always glisten in the light as if they are routinely sharpened. You should ask him about that. He takes quite a bit of pride in taking care of his weapons, you know? =Skills and Abilities = ---- Having spent a number of millenia on the open seas, Thanalor has developed quite a bit of balance and flexibility. In combat, he is extremely mobile, capable of easily moving and twisting his body around his opponents. While he relies on his flexibility to win him the battle at the end of the day, he is also quite strong. While not as strong as someone who weight trains, his strength is nothing to scoff at. =Relationships = ---- While having had many friends over his many years of life, Thanalor's track record with them has been unfortunate to say the least. Most of his friends were fellow sailors aboard the ship he served on and most of them were killed during one rather horrific attack from the Horde. Despite the pain he felt when he lost them, he is still open to making new friends and connections. Nader Wildborne The first time that they met each other was odd. Both of them were wary of the other as Nader was a demon hunter and Thanalor was a Kaldorei. Somehow, their awkward first impression of each other turned into a friendship before ultimately turning into a relationship. Their bond has only strengthened over their time together, through multiple journeys to places like Ashenvale and Dun Morogh. Thanalor would like it if they could travel together forever. Feldran Ravenstrike His Father, Feldran taught Thanalor most if not all of the trade skills that he knows today. It was he that taught Thanalor how to carve, how to whittle and the trade of woodworking. Whilst he may not use those skills often in his daily life, Thanalor is grateful to his father that he was able to provide so many valuable skills and lessons to him. Cyanas Winterheart Her Mother, Thanalor would like to think that he actually looks more like her than his Father. She is where he got his silver hair and originally, light-purple, skin colour from. Besides that, when he was younger, she provided a lot for him. From her, he learned how to hunt and how to forage. For that, he is grateful. =History = ---- The Beginning Born for Adventure Born in a village in Ashenvale, to two lovely parents, both of which were craftspeople, Thanalor lived a mostly sheltered life during his childhood. While he loved the beautiful nature and majestic animals that surrounded his village, there was this hunger for adventure within him that he could not sate no matter how far he explored his homeland. Despite his parents' protests, he decided to leave his home village and enlist with the Kaldorei Navy. On board the Mirrored Star, he worked as a sailor for many years. On the high seas, he braved the elements, terrifying sea creatures and eventually the Horde. His First Kill The first battle he had against the Horde was a startling one. A heavy mist had appeared all around them, creating a visual blockade and obscuring the vision of both vessels. It was when the two ships nearly scraped together that both vessels were alerted to the other's presence and soon, battle commenced. Thanalor was the man working the masts and whilst he wished to join his fellow crewmembers in the battle on the deck, he knew that his duty was to ensure that non of the Horde were able to destroy the sails. He got his wish granted when an Orc shot an arrow through his shoulder, sending him falling to the deck. His fall was a brief distraction from the overall bloody conflict and luckily for him, he was not immediately skewered on floor where he fell. On the deck, he was corned by the Orc that had shot him. The Orc, an older man, who looked quite aggravated that he had no scored an immediate killing shot on the taller, Kaldorei man, charged at Thanalor with a spear. Thanalor, having had lucridous amounts of adrenaline pumping through him was able to dodge the spear and stab the Orc with a knife. He did not know how many times he stabbed that Orc, he lost count after a while. All he could feel at that moment however was the instinct to survive. Prisoner of War It was during one fateful encounter with the Horde that the Mirrored Star was finally defeated in battle. The Orcs were ruthless in their victory; rounding up the women to be used as sex slaves and killing some of the men for fun. Thanalor was lucky to be one of the few crew members that survived. Taken to Durotar in chains, he was branded and turned into a slave. Bought off by a master who used his slaves as betting tools in the arena, he was set off on his bloody journey. Each and everyday, he would be cheered on by a crowd of savages as he was forced to kill whoever was pitted against him. There was no glory in his actions. There was only the instinct to survive. It was during his time in captivity that he met a Human by the name of Charles Mulligan. They quickly became friends despite Thanalor's fear that he might someday have to go against him in the arena. For a brief time, Thanalor was able to push back that thought to the back of his mind as he continueed fighting in the arena. Every day, he would eat breakfast with his fellow combatants before fighting in the arena in the afternoon. It does something to a person, having to kill the people that he sleeps and eats with. The Death of a Friend While he knew it would happen someday, he did not expect it to happen so soon. To face one's best friend in a fight to the death. It was truly one of the more horrific moments in Thanalor's life. It was a dark stain in the book of Thanalor's memories when his bladed claw tore through Charles's armour and penetrated through Charles's chest. With his dying breaths, Charles forgave Thanalor and gave him his necklace. Thanalor still wears that necklace to this day. The Breaking of Chains Sick and tired of having to kill so many innocent people, Thanalor began plotting his escape. Chipping away at his chains, he eventually broke them after several weeks of hard work. Finding the slavedriver that owned him, he slit his throat in the middle of the night before retrieving the keys and freeing the other slaves. Stealing a few boats, he said his goodbyes to his fellow freed slaves and began rowing along the coastline towards freedom. He did not know how many days he spent on that boat, but he eventually lost consciousness. Somehow, he managed to drift all the way to Theramore before he died of dehydration. There, he was treated and given food. He would never forget the kindness of the people of Theramore. The Call to Adventure Strikes Again Despite spending all those years at sea, Thanalor's thirst for adventure was still not sated. Eager to forget the horrific deeds that he commited whilst enslaved, Thanalor bartered for a few traveling supplies before heading off. Over the years, he traveled throughout most of Kalimdor, making sure to avoid Horde controlled territories the best that he could. Many more years passed before he finally finished exploring Kalimdor. He then set his sights to the Eastern Kingdoms. Purchasing a ticket, he sailed all the way over to Stormwind. Stormwind was the kingdom where his friend Charles's belonged to. It is one of the reasons why he seems to always come back to Stormwind to restock on supplies after he travels. Stormwind is also the place where he met the love of his life. This is where Thanalor is right now. =Trivia = ---- *His favourite colour is blue. His least favourite colour is red. *His favourite food, surprisingly enough, is blueberry pie, which is a Human dish. He tried it first in Theramore. Blueberry pie is the reason why he makes stops in Stormwind. *Unlike most Kaldorei, his diet is centered around meat. *He cannot handle spicy food. *His favourite flavour of icecream is strawberry. *He absolutely hates coffee and is absolutely confused as to how anyone could like it. He prefers tea. *He can't stand the taste of porridge as it reminds him of the food he ate back when he was still a slave. *His voice reference is Troy Baker, specifically his performance as Revolver Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain. *He is fond of dad jokes. He also likes puns. *He is right handed. *His first kill was during a battle with a Horde ship where he stabbed an Orc to death. *The first man that he ever killed in the arena was a Kaldorei like him. *During his time as a gladiator, he amassed a total of one-hundred and thirty-one kills. He is not proud of that fact. *Due to having traveled for many years, his once light-purple skin has tanned to become the dark, muted shade that he is now. *When no one is looking, he enjoys playing with his hair and beard. *He can speak decent Orcish but cannot read it. *His favourite book genre is comedy. *He got his tattoos right before enlisting in the Kaldorei Navy. *He has contemplated suicide multiple times. Those thoughts have died out as of recent times. *He has traveled the entirety of Kalimdor and most of the Eastern Kingdoms. *When he was a slave, he was called 'Ethan' by his best friend. He often gets confused when someone says the name 'Ethan' and sometimes he might even turn to answer. *He lost his eye during an accident when a part of the ship he was serving on exploded, sending shards of wood everywhere. One of those shards ended up embedding itself in his eye. How unlucky of him. *He has a thing for ponytails. *During his travels, he has risked frostbite a total of four times. *His favourite animal is the sabrecat. *He enjoys singing in the bath, but he will never tell anyone that. Category:Characters Category:Kaldorei Navy Category:Gladiators Category:Night Elf